I've been riding mine now for a couple hundred miles and I love them. I am coming from a pair of Bontrager XXL or whatever they're called. I always got hot spots with the bontragers due to the latch system. The laces of the Empires works well for me in that regard. I have yet to feel any hot spots. Also, I am noticing that the black leather is very easy to keep clean and looking fresh.

I have the 2013 version of the Empires. I initially bought them in winter so I did not notice any problem with ventilation. They are comfortable, the laces are amazing and people compliment their awesomeness.

Fast forward now to June, and with 33C degree temperatures and 80-90% humidity, these shoes seriously bake my feet and the amount of moisture they accumulate is a serious problem now, even riding at night. I have switched to my backup pair of Giro Privateer MTB shoes and I can at least feel airflow on my toes.

Any indication that the 2014 version are any better with ventilation? The pictures seem to indicate the same amount of air holes. However, I've purchased a pair of Fizik R3s in the meantime. They seem to have a superb amount of nylon mesh which means good ventilation (hopefully).

Does anyone riding these shoes live in a cold weather climate or ride in pace lines for training?

Putting on oversocks is enough of a pain, I cannot imagine being an hour into a winter loop and having foot pain and having to pull over, sit my arse in a pile of snow, pull off my oversock and have to retie my shoe. I can adjust my ratchets through my oversock, with gloves on.

Or, "Hey guys, can we pull over?" Why, you have an RD issue? "No, I need to tie my shoe."

I gotta go with function over form on this one. As I'm trying to get out the door for a ride, the last thing I want to do is lace up some shoes. I'll lace up my futbol boots, I'm love pulling on my cycling shoes and clicking them in fast.

I have been using the Empire exclusively for the past two seasons and live in a climate that can get cold. I use over shoes quite often and adjustment is just not a factor. The intial ride way back when required a stop and reset and since then the shoe has been a "set and forget" piece of equipment. I have messed up feet with lots of issues including sensitivity. Moving away from ratchets and velcro straps reduced a big amount of foot pain.

I have ridden the Empires recently in 39 deg C weather and they got warmer for sure, but not more than those patent Sidis I used to wear. Above 35 deg C I might notice something but below that, no.

The new vented model looks great though - lighter as well. But why are shoe manufactures choosing ridiculous colors to make sure their shoes are seen? Orange? Really? White is fine, but I hope there are other subtle colors in addition to orange. (Reaching for shoe covers...). Mavic with that yellow, Northwave also with orange. We had enough of that crap watching the World Cup with optic yellow shoes and pink and blue mismatched boots as well. Ugh. Hint- if you like orange, give it a season and pick up those Empires on big discount.

Yeah, although I do appreciate the ease of putting on shoes with simple straps and/or ratchets, I never really feel the need to adjust my shoes during a ride. Also, laces offer a much more "custom" fit than straps can, and should provide more even pressure to the top of the foot. They really do look pretty classy too IMO (not the orange ones)

Plus, this is WW, and 350 grams for a pair of shoes

Sign me up for a black pair when they decide to come out with some more colors.

Never been an issue for me with the laces. Been using them since March and only had to stop to adjust the laces once very early on as I was still experimenting with how tight they should be. Now I'm used to tying them it's not an issue and I manage to get the tension correct every time. I'll do them up slightly tighter than normal if I'm racing or going out for a hard session.

Ib do see others fiddling with their BOA dials from time to time. If you're the kind of rider that likes to fiddle with the tension on your shoes regularly then it should stand to reason that the Empire won't be for you. Even when I had s works shoes with BOA I never adjusted the tension.

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